Method of making a toilet seat

ABSTRACT

A toilet seat, exclusive of the hinge assembly, has only a resilient expanded-foam interior and a plastic film sheet cover. The toilet seat is made by pre-forming the film sheet cover in a mold and heat sealing it to form a tubular ring-like structure or annulus into the interior of which expandable foam material is injected to expand and fill the annulus. As an alternate method of manufacture, the resilient foam interior is pre-formed in a mold and then covered with plastic film which is heat sealed. The toilet seat has no rigid base of wood, or other material. A small rigid bar of metal or other material is cemented to the interior of the seat. The bar has tapped holes therein for receiving screws of the hinge assembly.

United States Patent [191 Ginsburg METHOD OF MAKING A TOILET SEAT [76] Inventor: Milton Ginsburg, 1201 Sandringham Rd., Bala Cynwyd, Pa.

22 Filed: Aug. 5, 1971 21 Appl. No.: 169,380

[52] U.S. Cl 156/79, 4/234, 4/237, 156/78, 156/267, 264/45 [51] Int. Cl. B32b 5/20, A4714 13/02, B29h 7/04 [58] Field of Search 4/234, 237, 112, 4/242, DIG. 8; 264/45; 156/78, 79, 267

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,383,440 5/1968 Chaldekas 156/79 3,379,800 4/1968 Wert 264/45 3,466,214 9/1969 Polk et al..... 156/267 3,623,931 l1/l97l Van Hosen 4/234 3,517,396 6/1970 Wert 4/234 840,032 l/1907 Willms 4/237 848,043 3/1907 McCord et a1... 4/234 2,155,286 4/1939 Winding 4/234 2,185,169 12/1939 Romanoff 4/234 1 Nov. 13, 1973 1/1940 Rocker 4/234 l/l96l Beneke, Jr. 4/234 [57] ABSTRACT A toilet seat, exclusive of the hinge assembly, has only a resilient expanded-foam interior and a plastic film sheet cover. The toilet seat is made by pre-forming the film sheet cover in a mold and heat sealing it to form a tubular ring-like structure or annulus into the interior of which expandable foam material is injected to expand and fill the annulus. As an alternate method of manufacture, the resilient foam interior is pre-formed in a mold and then covered with plastic film which is heat sealed. The toilet seat has no rigid base of wood, or other material. A small rigid bar of metal or other material is cemented to the interior of the seat. The bar has tapped holes therein for receiving screws of the hinge assembly.

1 Claim, 7 Drawing Figures IOX Patented Nov .13, 1973 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR Milton Ginsburg m +62% ATTORNEYS.

Patented Nov .13, 1973 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ATTORNEYS- METHOD OF MAKING A TOILET SEAT BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION It is known in the prior art to construct toilet seats of soft cushion material supported on a rigid base of molded pressed wood or other material, and to cover the cushion and base with a plastic sheet film which is heat sealed. While such prior art seats are attractive in appearance, and comfortable, they are relatively expensive.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a cushioned toilet seat which is attractive in appearance, soft and comfortable but which is light in weight and inexpensive as compared with the prior art cushion seats referred to above.

The foregoing object is accomplished, in accordance with the present invention, by making a toilet seat having no rigid base of wood or other material. The seat is formed solely of a resilient expanded-foam interior and a heat sealed plastic film sheet covering. A small rigid bar of metal or other material is provided for holding the hinge assembly.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a bottom view of a toilet seat made in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded view, in section, of the component parts of a tubular annulus which, when filled with expandable foam material, forms a toilet seat made in accordance with a preferred method taught by the present invention. The view in FIG. 2 may be assumed to be along the line 44 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a view, in section, showing the component parts of FIG. 2 after they have been put together and heat sealed, after which expandable foam material in liquid form is injected into the interior of the sealed annulus.

FIG. 4 is a view, in section, looking along the line 44 of FIG. 1 showing the finished toilet seat with hinge attached, made by the method of FIGS. 2 and 3. Also shown in FIG. 4, below the finished seat, is the excess film sheet material which is torn away after the annulus has been heat sealed and filled with foam.

FIG. 5 is an exploded view, in section, showing the component parts of a toilet seat made in accordance with an alternate method taught by the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a view, in section, showing the component parts of FIG. 5 after they have been put together and heat sealed.

FIG. 7 is a view, in section, looking along the line 44 of FIG. 1, showing the finished product, with hinge attached, made by the method of FIGS. 5 and 6. Also shown is the excess film sheet material which is torn away after the seat has been heat sealed.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In the description of the methods of making cushioned toilet seats in accordance with the teachings of the present invention, it is to be noted that the seat is upside-down during most of the steps of manufacture.

Thus, the top sheet of plastic film cover in the finished product occupies the bottom position during the process of manufacture.

In the method illustrated in FIGS. 2-4, a plastic sheet of film 10, such as polyvinychloride, which may preferably be rectangular as indicated in phantom in FIG. 1, is placed over a mold having an annular recess therein of a shape and size corresponding to that of the finished product. The sheet of film 10 is then formed, as by wellknown vacuum-forming process.

With the formed sheet 10 still in the mold, a second sheet of film 20, preferably of thicker material than sheet 10, and also preferably rectangular, is placed over the formed sheet of film 10. The heavier sheet of film 20 becomes the bottom of the film cover in the finished product. Before the sheet 20 is placed over the formed sheet 10, a small rigid bar 30, of metal or other rigid material, having tapped holes 31 therein for receiving the screws of the hinge assembly, is secured, as by epoxy or cement, to the under surface of sheet 20, in the location shown in FIG. 2.

After the thicker sheet of film 20 with the rigid bar 30 secured thereto has been placed over the formed sheet of thinner film 10, and while the sheet 10 is still in the mold, the two sheets are sealed together at the annular seam lines identified as A and B. Seam A is the outer edge of the annulus, while seam B is the inner edge of the annulus. The annular seals or seams A and B may be formed by well known high-frequency dielectric heating methods and equipment.

After the rectangular sheets of film 10 and 20 have been heat sealed, as just described, and preferably while the lower sheet 10 is still in the mold, expandable foam material 40, such as polyurethane, is injected in liquid form, into the interior of the sealed hollow annulus. The plastic material 40 employed is of a type which upon expansion produces a resilient foam material 40E. The injection of the liquid may be made, as by nozzle 41, through a hole 21 in sheet 20 in registry with one of the tapped holes 31 in bar 30. A vent hole is provided at a suitable location in sheet 20 to allow for the escape of air when the foam material is injected and expanded.

The quantity of expandable material 40 injected into the hollow interior of the sealed annulus is carefully controlled so that upon expansion the expanded foam material-40E completely fills the annulus, as illustrated in FIG. 4. The excess sheet material, both inside and outside the annular seals or seams A and B are then torn away. The excess material is illustrated in FIG. 4 and is identified as 10:: and 20x. A suitable hinge member 50 is then attached to the bar 30, as by screws 51. The hinge member 50 is designed to allow the soft resilient toilet seat to rest directly on the toilet bowl. No bumpers are required. The particular hinge member 50 shown in the drawing includes a C-shaped hold 52 to allow the seat to be removed without removing any nuts or bolts.

An alternate method of making a seat of the type just described is illustrated in FIGS. 5-7. Component parts of the seat, made in accordance with the alternative method now being described, are illustrated in an exploded view in FIG. 5. These component parts consist of the vacuum-formed film sheet 10, the thicker film sheet 20, the rigid bar 30, and the expanded-foam annulus 40E. The expanded-foam annulus 40E may be formed by injection molding in a mold of selected configuration and size. The cover 10 is formed by vacuum molding a sheet of plastic film, preferably a rectangular sheet. The formed expanded-foam annulus 40E is then placed in the formed annular recess in cover sheet 10. The rigid bar 30, having the tapped holes 31, is cemented to the interior surface of the thicker film sheet 20, and the film sheet 20 is then placed upon the expanded-foam annulus 40E and formed sheet 10, and the two sheets are heat sealed at the annular lines A and B, by known dielectric heating methods and equipment, to form the inner and outer annular seams. The inner and outer excess material x and x is then torn away at the seam lines A and B. A suitable hinge member 50 is then attached to the bar 30, as by screws l have found the finished product to be much lighter in weight than a cushioned toilet seat having a rigid base of pressed wood. As previously indicated, the lightweight seat, made in accordance with the present invention, requires no bumpers. The hinge assembly is designed to allow the film-covered expandedfoam annulus to rest directly on the upper edge of the toilet bowl. A preferred form of hinge assembly allows the seat to be removed without removing any nuts or bolts.

What is claimed is:

1. The method of making a toilet seat comprising the steps of:

a. mold-forming an annular recess in a first sheet of plastic film to form the upper portion of a tubular annular cover member;

12. fastening a bar of rigid material to an inner surface of a second sheet, said bar having tapped holes therein for receiving hinge screws;

c. placing said second sheet of plastic film in contiguous relation to the annular recess of the moldformed first sheet;

d. heat sealing the first and second sheets together along the inner and outer edges of the annular recess;

e. injecting expandible resilient plastic foam material through one of said tapped holes in said rigid bar into the interior of the sealed annulus to fill the same upon expansion of said foam material and allowing trapped air to escape through another of said tapped holes; and

. removing the excess film sheet material inside and outside the annular seals. 

1. The method of making a toilet seat comprising the steps of: a. mold-forming an annular recess in a first sheet of plastic film to form the upper portion of a tubular annular cover member; b. fastening a bar of rigid material to an inner surface of a second sheet, said bar having tapped holes therein for receiving hinge screws; c. placing said second sheet of plastic film in contiguous relation to the annular recess of the mold-formed first sheet; d. heat sealing the first and second sheets together along the inner and outer edges of the annular recess; e. injecting expandible resilient plastic foam material through one of said tapped holes in said rigid bar into the interior of the sealed annulus to fill the same upon expansion of said foam material and allowing trapped air to escape through another of said tapped holes; and f. removing the excess film sheet material inside and outside the annular seals. 